Income tax crimes often are prosecuted in conjunction with other crimes.
Among the more common charges are conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, theft, embezzlement, drug trafficking, and mail fraud.
Financial and investment crimes are usually linked with tax crimes.
Examples of these would be illegal banking activities, stock, bank, and insurance fraud, pyramid or Ponzi investment schemes, stealing from clients, and illegal tax shelter schemes.
Other non-tax crimes prosecuted along with tax crimes would include running a house of prostitution, bribery of public officials, interstate transport of obscene materials, payola, racketeering, theft of seized drug money, stealing government property, harboring a fugitive, and receiving kickbacks.
Prosecutors often attempt to convict known or suspected criminals of tax charges when there are difficulties or delays in prosecuting their more egregious offenses.
This strategy is often used against organized crime figures or mobsters.
The same strategy was used to convict a California businessman who defrauded and preyed on Hispanic immigrants.
Because he was considered a danger to the Latin community, he was prosecuted for failure to pay payroll taxes before the fraud investigation was completed.
Occasionally, tax crimes are brought against individuals involved in politically sensitive situations.
For example, a bank manager pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and tax evasion in a case where clandestine, unauthorized loans were made to Iraq, with much of the money being for nuclear, chemical and ballistic weapons projects.
In the Clinton Whitewater affair, Webster Hubbell pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion for overbilling clients.
